Thursday, December 01, 2016

Those little pleasures

Especially now, I’ll take all the pleasures – little or otherwise – that I can get. Here are a few of mine. What are some of yours?

You’re listening to the radio and a song comes on that you really love and haven’t heard in awhile. Just the first few notes make you smile and you know for the next three or four minutes you’re going to be happy.

You're in a restaurant and get one of those tables at the window with a view.

You upload some computer program and it actually works. (This pleasure, by the way, has never happened to me.)

Same restaurant, you look around and see you have a better table than Beyonce.

Your kid plays Tree #3 in the school pageant and gives a bravura performance.

You don’t need X-Rays until your next visit to the dentist.

Coke with real sugar.

You’re trying to find a parking space in a crowded mall and someone pulls out just in front of you.

They honor the Group-On even after the expiration date.

You drink a Coke out of the bottle on a staggeringly hot day.

You get upgraded.

You take your first bite of a food you’ve been craving for weeks. And it tastes as good as you had imagined.

You’re watching reruns of a classic show, you’ve seen every episode ten times, and suddenly one appears that you’ve never seen before.

You find a cherished toy from your youth at a flea market.

The Tylenol kicks in.

People you don’t even know wish you Happy Birthday on Facebook.

You have time for a nap.

You find a seat on a crowded subway car. And it’s next to someone who bathes.

You get TSA pre-check.

Your printer jams and you actually fix it yourself. Is there a greater sound than a printer resuming its print job?

You order medium rare and it comes out medium rare.

You stumble upon a new TV show you really like. And you set a season pass immediately because you know you’ll never find it again. What is Epix anyway?

nothing beats pics of Natalie.I don't recall seeing you mention the TCM Friday night highlights of Natalie's movies with Robert Wagner and Natasha Gregson Wagner. I really enjoyed their fond memories of Natalie and what they recollect about Natalie's views of each movie.

FRIDAY Question:Ken, I've been taking a Leadership Class for my MBA. One of our projects has to do with multiple leaders. That is, what happens when you have 2 or more equal leaders. How does that work, etc.When you and David were either Head Writers/Show Creators/Show Runners, was there a balance you struck dividing up functions? Did other writers,cast members approach the two of you separately or individually with personal/professional issues? How did the 2 of you cope with people wanting more of his time vs your time?

You walk into the barber shop expecting to see a lot of other customers sitting on the bench waiting their turn for one of the barbers, but instead the barber you like is sitting on the bench waiting for customers to come into the shop.

You come home on a plane and the cab driver who picks you up at the airport speaks English well enough to understand the instructions for finding your house.

"You're listening to the radio and a song comes on that you really love and haven't heard in a while."

Then you're obviously not listening to KRTH. According to their ridiculously tight playlist, the only thing Billy Joel ever recorded is "My Life"(?). Even if they overplayed my favorite song of his ("A Matter of Trust"), it wouldn't be doing him justice. KRTH used to be a decent oldies station, nearly as good as its New York sister WCBS-FM. Not anymore, not by a long shot.

A good night of sleep, a perfectly well made cup of coffee (milk, sugar, not too hot, NOT COLD OR ICED), Seinfeld re-run of "The Marine Biologist", catching your bus, train or elevator at the perfect time, Italian food, Pulp Fiction whenever it's on (at any point),your boss out of the office, quiet, Chipotle for lunch, the "everydayness" of baseball, everything about football and of course, Ken Levine's daily blog postings, --LL

Learning new software without having to ask my daughter.Finding a new audio clip of the Real Don Steele on Reelradio.comGoing out to the wood bin and finding it not in need of refilling.Having the chainsaw start on the first crank.Being kind to folks who really need it.

You get TSA pre-check. Love it - I got that several times in a row! Plus, the TSA dude toldd me you can apply for it - fee is something like $160.

Here's a couple that I like:

The team you've been following since Wilt/West/Goodrich has sucked for years and is now young, gaining confidence, and just got a young coach who might be the next Jackson/Riley/Popovich/Auerbach (that is a might be a future HOF'er)

There are few pleasures in life greater than a good chair. Big enough that it doesn't feel cramped, cushioned enough that you aren't constantly adjusting your weight or avoiding hard edges, thick enough as to stay warm, and reclining in case you want to take a short nap. There's nothing fancy or innovative about this chair. No seat warmers, no cupholders, no massage features. Just a good, old-fashioned recliner that does one thing and does it so perfectly even Marty Crane and Archie Bunker would gladly trade up for it without a second thought.

For you it's Natalie Wood, for me it's Adrienne Barbeau. No matter how old she gets (and she's well into AARP territory now), to me, she'll always be that BBB (buxom, braless, bouncing) number from "Maude."

Much as we complain about the internet, the fact we now have an internet, and can post/comment/meet interesting people on interesting blogs.

Much as we are immersed - and overwhelmed - with digital visual information, the fact we can still enjoy radio (terrestrial, satellite, internet, whatever else they will think of), and the colorful collage of images and emotions that good music and good storytelling will always evoke... all in the mind and heart. Think Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe or Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion, that sort of thing.

About KEN LEVINE

Named one of the BEST 25 BLOGS by TIME Magazine. Ken Levine is an Emmy winning writer/director/producer/major league baseball announcer. In a career that has spanned over 30 years Ken has worked on MASH, CHEERS, FRASIER, THE SIMPSONS, WINGS, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, BECKER, DHARMA & GREG, and has co-created three series. He and his partner wrote the feature VOLUNTEERS. Ken has also been the radio/TV play-by-play voice of the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres. and Dodger Talk. He hosts the podcast HOLLYWOOD & LEVINE

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